Little Helpers

My girls absolutely love to help out. Most children do. The most recent events are setting the table, cooking/baking, laundry and cleaning the table after we eat. I think what amazes me most about these little helpers is their enthusiasm to do it. Almost begging to help out!

When it is time to eat, Abi jumps up and says, "Can I help you set the table? What do we do first?" I give her plates first and she takes them over and carefully sets them in each place. Then I hear, "What do we need next?" She then sets out forks and spoons. Then I hear, "How about napkins next!" Out go the napkins. Once everything is ready she sits at the table and asks if there is anything else she can do. Tonight, Amanda was feeling a little left out, apparently. She came into the kitchen, opened up a cabinet, looked around, found a plastic, yellow bowl (matched her plate), pulled it out, said "bowl!" and ran to put it on the table. Once it was there she said, "I did it!" while clapping and smiling. So cute!

Cooking and baking. Abi is really into this these days. Yesterday we made pretzels and she helped knead the dough and shape the pretzels. It was a first for both of us which was so special - I had never made pretzels before either. When we get ready to make something, the first thing I hear is, "How do we start? I know! Let's find a recipe. You can look online." Then once we get our recipe and gather all of our ingredients Abi asks, "what do we put in first?" She asks that about each step and is so excited and enthusiastic about making anything and everything. When Mark got home last night she went through the whole process of making the pretzels, "First we pressed the dough. The we let it rest. then we rolled it out into snakes and made shapes! Then we boiled them and baked them!" I couldn't believe she remembered the whole process. Anything that she gets to mix or crack eggs into she loves! Pancakes, muffins, popovers... you name it. She also likes to help when I make chicken fingers - she gets to shake the bag! Amanda helped with that tonight too. It is so heart-warming to watch how excited and proud they are when they get to help with something like that.

Laundry - this is more Amanda's thing. Abi used to like to "fold" when she was younger. She would pick up something out of the basket and walk around shaking it out. Amanda runs for the washer every time I open the door. Before I can get anything sorted she is on her tip toes putting clothes into the washer. She can't see anything, but she knows if she pushes far enough, the clothes will go in :-)

Cleaning the table. this is also more of Amanda's thing. she got so upset with me the other day because I wouldn't let her have the cloth with the Windex on it to help clean the table! I gave her a cloth with water on it and she got so excited and cleaned the whole table - as much as she could reach. She also like to help me pick up, especially if we sing the clean up song from Dora.

Abi likes to help pick up and put things away too. As we were leaving Mema and Papa's house the other night, she saw that Mema was putting away a little table and chairs. Before we knew it Abi was carrying in a little folding chair too! It was big for her to carry, but she wanted to do it all by herself. "I will be ready in a minute. I just need to take this to my room." How can you rush that? We happily waited.

I am just in awe of the natural tendency toward servanthood in children. I know that children like to be "big" and many think they just want to feel like they are big girls, but I think children are born with a natural sense to help and serve - a heart of compassion. It is fostered and developed through our parenting, but I truly believe they have a God-given gift and tendency toward serving and loving. So many times I wish I could be more like them! I feel like they teach me so much more than I teach them. And I believe God has purposefully planned that as well. To bring our tainted minds, thoughts and actions back to the innocent way we began. My children are constant reminders of how much God loves me, protects me, provides for me and waits for me. It is all in the perspective in which I choose to look at it. More often then I like to admit, I get more frustrated than anything - my patience is so not what it used to be. However, I am going to make a personal goal to really take everything into perspective and look at the big picture. There are lessons for me in every one of these challenges. I know I will fail, but that also is part of the big picture. So, here I go onto another adventure and challenge. Many more will follow, but for now I will aim to stay calm and patient and look at the big picture. BIG breaths........

Recreating Memories

When I was young, we (my sister, brother and I) spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house. My mom's parents were about a mile or so away and since my mom was a single mom, we spent a lot of time at their house while my mom worked. A memory I don't think i will ever forget is the gigantic vegetable garden my grandmother had. She grew everything - tomatoes, zucchini, squash, green beans, snap sugar peas, peppers, carrots... you name it. And boy did she have a green thumb! You should have seen all the African Violets she always had! They were gorgeous! They are so hard to keep and she did it like the pro she has always been. Grandma used to send us out to the garden to pick the vegetables (after she taught us how to tell if they were ripe and how to pick them) and when it was time for the beans and peas, I think we ate more off the plants than we brought inside! Then once we got inside, we would prepare them.

For the beans, there were 2 bowls - 1 for the snapped ends and 1 for the ready-to-eat beans. We had so much fun sitting on the porch together and snapping the beans! And we LOVED to eat them raw. They are so much better that way. She would often come out and let us know that we needed to stop eating them so that there were enough for dinner.

And then the peas. How much fun it was to pop those open and slide our finger down the inside to get the peas out! That is, is we didn't eat the whole pod first! And then to eat those raw peas... I feel like I am sitting there right now, all of us laughing while Grandma watched from the kitchen window (monitoring how many we were eating so that there were enough for dinner). Such a beautiful memory for so many reasons.

I don't think my Grandma really minded how many we were eating before hand. What a great way to introduce so many things to your kids! Not only introducing vegetables to kids, but also a work ethic and hands-on experience with how to begin to cook. We couldn't do the cooking itself, but we helped and children LOVE to eat things that they helped make. I got to share this story with Abi this morning as I was bringing the girls home from the fruit and vegetable stand. They love to go here with me and each time they get to pick something "new." Last time we went (we go a couple of times a week) Abi picked out kiwi. While she wasn't crazy about it, she tried it and ate it because she got to pick it out. Today she wanted starfruit, but they were out. Next time. So instead I asked her if she would like to pick a bag of green beans or a basket up snap sugar peas. She wanted to pick a basket of sugar peas. I told her to look over them and pick any one she wanted. She was so excited and handed me the one she thought looked best. Amanda picked a couple of little oranges (something neither one of my girls have cared for) so Abi also picked a couple she wanted. On the way home as I shared my childhood story with her she said, "I can't WAIT to get home and pop those sugar peas! Do they taste like sugar?" I told her, "You'll have to taste and see! Then you can let me know what you think they taste like!" She excitedly told me again that she couldn't wait!

Once we got home I washed the peas, put them in a bowl and took them to the table. I showed her how to pop them open and find the peas inside. I wish you could have heard her sweet giggle. She was so excited to try one she could only giggle! After trying one the next thing I knew the whole bowl was just about empty! She hardly touched anything else on her plate. Amanda wasn't so interested in the raw peas. In all honesty, green vegetables have always been popular with my girls. Peas, green beans, broccoli..... they love all of them. I wasn't surprised that Abi gobbled them up, but to share my experience with her is what made it so wonderful.

So here are a couple of take-aways. Take your children to the local farmer's market or produce stand and let them pick out some things to take home and try. Plant a garden - let them help plant the seeds or plants and take care of the garden, pick the produce and prepare it for meals. Find some positive experiences from your childhood that make you smile and find a way to recreate those or share those with your children. It creates a way for you to connect with your children and remember precious moments you experienced as a child. If you don't have any of these memories, create your own! These moments are so sweet and there is so much joy in watching the wonder of a child experience something new and feel like they are a part of something bigger.

I hope to one day have a place where I can have the girls help plant a garden, take care of it and pull the produce off to eat. How wonderful that will be! To plant a seed, cultivate it and watch it grow. There are such deep roots in those thoughts ...... how we plant physical seeds and watch physical plants grow, but also how we weave in the planting of spiritual seeds and watch our children grow in faith to know Jesus. These are the moments that make all the tears and frustration melt away. The bigger purpose. Raising children to love and honor God. What an honor to be called "mother."

Quiet for a Moment

Fr just a moment, it is quiet this morning in the house. Mark has gone to work and I have an unusual occurrence.... both girls are still sleeping! Abi was up from 2 am until about 6 or 6:30 am. Amanda woke up at 12:30 or 1 am and then again at 5 am. She is cutting all 4 molars at the moment. I finally got her back to sleep after a little snack and some milk, so she is resting on our bed. A week or 2 ago I so longed for a morning of quiet. Today I have been granted just that. And what a beautiful morning it is!

Amanda just sat up, looked out at me smiled and threw herself down onto the bed. Here she comes! Lord, thank you for the few moments of quiet this morning. Help me know how to raise the girls today. How to talk with, discipline, help them. Give me patience and compassion. Help us all to have happy, respectful, compassionate hearts toward one another. Cover us with Grace, Peace, Joy, Love and surround us with all that is You. We praise you again today and thank you for all you are, all you have done and all that you continue to do. We give you today and ask that you bless it, guide us through it and help us see the Joy in each moment you give us today. Thank you!

Only God!

So I was riding the trolley tonight with the girls, something I do every night. We always ride the trolley, play the piano, see the boats if the gate is open and then ride the trolley back. Most times we are the only ones riding. tonight was not the case. There was a man from San Diego who was in town with his wife and mother. Here is the amazing story he told me about on the ride to the hotel:

His mother recently found out that she was not an only child - she has 2 sisters! She was "swept away from" her mother at 6 months of age and had no idea she had any siblings. He decided that since she is now 77, he should go ahead and check to see if he could find anyone. He had a name to go on for a parent, so he began to research. He found an obituary for his mom's father and read through living relatives. He then found an obituary for her mother, also reading names of living relatives. He ended up finding a cousin in Tennessee, talked with them and then got a name to go on for a sister and information they thought this sister was somewhere in south Florida.

He began to look up names in the south Florida area and found one that seemed promising. He called. When she answered he said, "Is this Judy?" When the answer was yes, he proceeded with, "I know this is kind of strange, but I think you are my aunt." You can imagine the seemingly hesitant voice on the other end of the phone. He continued talking, things were adding up and clicking and then he threw out the name Maryann. BINGO!!!! She knew immediately he was right! And there was another sister too! They knew that somewhere they had a sister named Maryann, but that is all they knew. They continued to talk and planned a trip to south Florida to meet everyone. All of the cousins were contacted and they had a reunion! Or rather a "union" as he called it. Can you imagine being 77 years old and discovering that you are not an only child? That you have siblings and cousins and that you can get together to meet them? Only God can bring these kinds of stories full circle! I have no idea where any of them stand spiritually, but what an awesome story! AND they are taking a cruise back to San Diego so that they can "let everyone else do the thinking." What a great way to end a most unbelievable and heart warming trip! Needless to say they WILL be coming back - I think he said December! What a wonderful Thanksgiving this will be!!!! How thankful to discover family.

I have ridden the trolley I don't know how many times and I love it because my girls get so excited. However, I think this may be my most favorite trip on the trolley. To be able to hear a story like this in such a short period of time and share in his excitement... People always walk up to Mark and tell their life stories (that's another blog), but I don't get those that often. This is a story I will remember forever.... and a face with the story that I will remember for a very long time. How awesome out God is to bring people, families, together like this. I don't believe it is chance that caused all of this to happen. I believe there is purpose and God led this man to each and every source and person (whether he realized it or not). i will be praying for and rejoicing with this family.

Lost Lizard

There is a very nice man at the hotel who sometimes gives a little rubber-like animal to the girls. Abi got a lizard a while back. We have no idea where it has gone, but last week he gave Amanda a pink lizard and Abi a pink frog. Abi has been able to keep tabs on her frog and has even taken it on a few trolley rides with us! (You will see it on Horsie's nose)

Now the lizard, that disappeared almost immediately. I honestly don't know where Amanda "stores" things. Her toothbrush has been missing for about a month! And yes, we did get her another in place of it. Have absolutely no idea where she put it, or rather set it down. She has a habit of just dropping or setting something wherever she is and then the hunt is on for the missing ????. Kind of like socks in the drier. There is a hole somewhere that has a lot of "things." Maybe there really is a City of Lost Toys like Dora found!

However, I am happy to report that the lizard has been found!

Yes, this is exactly where I found it as I was pulling laundry out of the washer to put into the drier. She is one clean lizard! Now the rest of the toys and toothbrush.... those remain mysteries :-)

Fun at the Beach

This past weekend, we went to Bathtub Beach! It is a beach here on Hutchinson Island that has a reef, and when the tide is out the swim area is alike a giant bathtub - you can walk all the way out the the reef and still be no more than knee-high in water. The girls had a ball! The highlight? There was another dad with a cast net who would go out and catch a net-full of mackrel (bait fish), bring them up onto shore and then his boys would throw them back into the water - there were several large schools of these fish swimming around and it wsa fun to see huge schools jumping and swimming away from what ever was chasing them. It became the point of focus for every child on the beach, our girls included! Abi laughed and screamed, but didn't really want to touch them. Amanda bent down, talked to them and then picked one up! Once it squirmed in her hand she dropped it and shook like the fish! She did this every time one wiggled when she touched or held it. Too funny!

It took some time to get the girls to go into the water, but daddy brought their blow-up boat, so that was a god way to get them used to the water. Then they had a good time looking for fish from the boat!

Bathtub beach has since been shut down, so the girls went to our beach yesterday. It was a very flat day on the water and a super quiet day at the beach. We were the only people there! We set up semi close to the water so that we could get plenty of wet sand to build sand castles. We did that for quite some time when I noticed little fish in the water. I tried tog et the girls to come into the water, but neither one wanted to come. I continued to go back and forth to get water and sand until Amanda finally came down with a big smile on her face. Once the water hit her toes, I couldn't get her out! She would see a wave coming and say, "here it comes!" So cute! She figured out that if the outgoing wave started to pull her forward, she could just sit down and she would be fine. So then every time a wave came she sat down! So smart and fun... until the wave was bigger than she was sitting down. Surprised her, but she still laughed and waited for the next one.

Abi took a little more coaxing. What finally got her to come to the water? A man was fishing and catching some of the fish I was seeing. She wanted to see it so she finally came down to the water. She was nervous until the water "tickled her toes." As time went on she became more and more brave! She started going further out, letting the water crash up onto her legs and laughing. So sweet. Then she got nervous when the water would start to pull her. I had her watch Amanda sit and when Abi got used to how the water felt going out around her while she was sitting, that was the highlight of each wave. Then we talked about watching the water to see when the big waves were coming. She then became the big wave police! Abi would say, "here comes a big one!" and Amanda would say, "here it comes!" We saw lots of fish right where the drop-off was in the water, including one that was white and black striped! The girls also threw some seashells back into the water saying, "you go BACK in the waves!".

The girls also learned that if you have a bucket of ocean water and wash your sandy hands in it, all the sand sinks to the bottom of the bucket. That was the new excitement of the sand castle building. i get a bucket of water and bring it up. Abi washes her hands, Amanda throws in 2 handfuls of sand, someone dumps out the bucket and the cycle begins again. So much fun!

It takes such an effort to get 2 little ones to the beach by the time you get all the sunblock on, suits on, bathroom done, small cooler packed and gather all the toys, blankets, umbrella and towels, but it is totally worth it. Amanda slept for 2 hours and Abi for 4! And everyone had such a great day. Next time we will take the kite too!

The Day After

A friend told me yesterday that the first day after a "survival day" is always a good one. This morning is proving to be just that! The girls got a full night's sleep and I think mommy and daddy did too! Both girls actually woke up happy, talking to each other and are playing quietly with each other! Yes, that means they are sharing and being respectful of each other. How thankful I am, and how blessed to have a Father who understands how much I (we) need the calm after the storm.

Another beautiful discovery this morning? Amanda has finally clicked with her please and thank you's! She asked for something this morning and I said, "what?" She said, "May I milk peee?" What a great start to "the day after!" I know there will be challenges - I do have a toddler and a preschooler. However, I am thankful for the happy start and reminded how blessed I really am.

In the past I have posted only when I remembered or felt like I was in a place where I could actually share something - I get nervous about putting my thoughts and feelings out there. My gut is telling me that I need to get beyond my insecurities and do just that. I am not saying that will happen overnight, but I am going to make an effort to go beyond my comfort zone and see what god has in store.

Now I sit with coffee in hand, Bible open and ready to see what today has in store.....